The Last True Enemy
by Pupu-Nini
Summary: Curious to know about his father's life, Laharl searches and finds a book written by King Kriechevskoy himself. As he reads he discovers secrets best left alone and a new threat that could potentially end his rule as Overlord! Chapter 5 is up! Wow!
1. A Past Best Forgotten

Chapter 1: A Past Best Forgotten

King Krichevskoy, the former Ruler of the Netherworld, met his death protecting his kingdom from the great Overlord Baal. The son of Krichevskoy, Laharl, gained the title of Overlord after making piece with the world of angels, Celestia. Laharl grew in strength and avenged his father's death by slaughtering Overlord Baal. He then became the most powerful Overlord in all of existence, ruling with unmatched power.

Laharl sat on his throne, staring at the portrait of his father. He thought about how little he knew about him and how he died at the hands of Overlord Baal. Despite the fact he was a demon, he was honorable and kind, and ruled with fairness. He died an honorable death fighting for the protection of his people and with his dying words told Etna, Laharl's loyal vassal, to make sure she watched over Laharl to help him grow into great ruler.

Etna walked into the throne room where Laharl sat gazing at his departed father. "Um…Prince, what are you doing?" Etna questioned. Laharl turned his attention to Etna and spoke softly, "I was just thinking about my Father…"

"Oh, King Krichevskoy. I miss him, too, I was glad to be his vassal, and I'm just as happy to serve under you, Prince." Etna said with a slight smile.

"I wish I could know more about him, he died when I was in my long sleep, I feel like I hardly knew him."

"Hmm…ya know, I think I can help you."

"Huh!" Laharl perked up.

"We could all go look in the dungeon, there is a whole bunch of junk stored down there, maybe there might be some old stuff from your father's rule!" Etna grinned as she spoke.

"Etna, get Flonne and meet me down there!" Laharl jumped out of throne and zoomed out of the throne room. He never thought of going into the dungeon, it was full of old Netherworld artifacts. Though, it was quite messy, no one has set foot in there for hundreds of years. When Laharl reached the entrance to the dungeon he noticed a lock on the old wooden door. He smashed it with great ease and pushed the large door open. There was a long dark passage with stair leading at the end leading further into the depths of the castle. He grabbed a nearby torch to light his way and headed into the long forgotten section of his palace.

A few minutes after reaching the heart of the dungeon he could hear Flonne's voice echoing through the hall, "Etna, this place is creepy, are you sure Laharl wanted us to meet him here? Is this some sort of joke?" Laharl sighed at the thought of Flonne being a demon; she still had the heart of an angel. As they neared Laharl, he thought he should light up the place. He walked through piles of junk scattered throughout the floor looking for a lantern to light. Instead he found a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was just low enough to hit him on the head. He dusted it off and lit it with the fire from the torch. Light spread across the room, making a decent amount illumination to search. Etnaentered the lit up dungeon room ready to help Laharl. Flonne was still a bit muddled"Oh, Laharl, Etna told me to come down here. Why though? What is inthis room?" Flonne questioned.

"Flonne, I need you and Etna to help me search through this junk here. Try to find anything that has to with my father." Laharl instructed.

"Hmm, no problem Laharl, I'm happy to help!"

"This should be interesting, I have always wanted to know more about the King." Etna said.

Laharl, Etna and Flonne sorted through old junk and found many interesting things. There were ancient spell books, swords, spears and staffs, all too old and worn for use, and even portraits of famous heroes and villains of the Netherworld. After hours of searching they had no luck finding anything that had to do with King Krichevskoy. "Damn!" Laharl cursed, "There is nothing here, but useless trash! There has to be something we overlooked!"

Etna sighed, "Prince, I'm sorry, but we searched through everything."

As Laharl and Etna talked Flonne continued to search. She was determined to find something, she knew this meant a lot to Laharl and she could not stand to see him disappointed. She dug through piles of old clothes hoping to find anything, but nothing showed. She stood up to go comfort Laharl and reassure him, as she stepped over to him she noticed a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. Curious as to what it was she walked over to it. It was a dusty, gold strip on the wall. Flonne wiped her hand across it to remove the dust and uncovered a word engraved into the gold. It read "Krichevskoy" across. "LAHARL! COME HERE! I FOUND SOMETHING!" Flonne jumped up and down at her discovery. Laharl and Etna rushed over to see what she found. "It's a Seal!" Laharl gasped.

"A seal? For what?" Etna asked.

"I don't know, but I have to break it to uncover whatever it's hiding." Laharl said as he lifted his fist.

"NO! Laharl, what if this seal is here for a reason?" Flonne warned.

"Of course it's here for a reason, it's hiding my father's belongings!" Laharl thrust his fist into the wall, splitting the seal in two. The wall in front of him crumbled to the ground revealing a hidden chamber.

Inside the chamber stood a lone podium with a large worn book perched atop it. They three approached the podium to see the book. Laharl lifted open the front cover and began to read, " I have now attained my rightful position as King of the Netherworld. My father has passed on and I inherited the throne. I shall rule as a kind, noble and just king, unlike my father. It is my duty to surpass the former overlords and give law to this lawless Netherworld. I swear on my name, King Krichevskoy."

"King Krichevskoy? Laharl we did it!" Etna squealed.

"Yes, thanks to Flonne, we found what we came here for. I will take this book and learn more about my father and his rule as king." Laharl announced.

After taking the book and leaving the dungeon Laharl began to read on. He read for days about his father, sometimes even forgetting to eat. He was determined to learn more and more, but one part in particular caught his attention. A certain part that is best not known by anyone.


	2. Recollection Of A Forsaken Time

Chapter 2: Recollection Of A Forsaken Time

With his mind lost in the nearly ancient writings of his deceased father, Laharl discovered an interesting passage. It read:

"Today, I noticed a hint of evil in its darkest form. Etna, one of the local children, experienced her pet's death with her own eyes. Some of my unruly vassals thought it would be entertaining to cause that poor child pain. This is not the sort of behavior that I will tolerate from a demon. Demons may be rougher and less moral than angels, but there is no excuse for evil such as this. I severely punished the vassals involved with the death and tried my best to comfort Etna. Even though I took care of the situation, I fear that the main source of influence is still in my kingdom. I have a disturbing suspicion that my most loyal vassal, Kairne, is the source. I am going to keep a close eye on his actions."

"Wow, my father never told me about Kairne." Laharl said, "I wonder if there is anything else on him." Laharl flipped through the pages skimming for any passages that contained this mysterious vassal. He eventually stumbled on another short entry:

"Today was sorrowful day in the Netherworld. I confirmed my suspicions of Kairne. He was the one who killed Etna's pet and he was the one who killed my beloved wife! Kairne gave my son, Laharl, the cursed illness that was curable only by the sacrifice of a loved one. His wicked plan this whole time was to overthrow me and rule the Netherworld eternally with vile wickedness. He told me everything right before he made an attempt on my life. Kairne was truly a powerful demon with more than enough power to destroy me. I had only one way to stop him from carrying out his plans. I had to use a powerful spell to capture his soul and seal it away from his body. I used nearly all my mana power to finish the spell, but I successfully trapped his soul in my self-portrait. Should the portrait ever be destroyed the soul will escape and seek out its lifeless body. Sadly, I could not destroy Kairne's body even if I wished to. It is his body that contains his mana power and his power reaches limits unheard of. I could not even scratch it with my most powerful attacks. I fear that even he is more powerful than the legends of the great Overlord Baal. For this reason I have hidden his body in the deepest and most lifeless part of the Netherworld, so if the soul ever escapes he will not find his body."

Tears ran down Laharl's cheeks as he finished reading the disturbing entry. He threw the book across the thrown room. He now knew the horrible truth about his mother's death and his father's vassal who betrayed him. Laharl's tears soon turned into rage as he thought about it more, "AAAAAAAAAAH!" he shouted as he slammed is right fist down on the throne. It shattered into tiny shards from the force. Etna heard the scream of anger and rushed in to see what Laharl was so upset about. "Prince! What's wrong?" Etna asked in concern.

"Etna. I need to talk you and Flonne. It is extremely important." Laharl said in an unsettling voice.

"I'm here Laharl! I heard a scream and a crash so I came to check it out." Flonne said as she entered the throne room.

"Good, now that both you are here, let me tell you about what I read in my father's writings." Laharl braced them for what they were going to hear.

A bit later after Laharl fully explained the story Etna and Flonne stood silent not knowing what to think. It was almost unbelievable; or rather they didn't want to believe it. "Etna, you have been alive longer than I have. What do you know about Kairne?" Laharl asked.

"Kairne…umm… I don't know much about him really. I think I might have seen him once or twice in the castle, but I was so young." Etna tried to remember.

"Laharl, why don't you ask Kairne himself?" Flonne suggested.

"Huh, and just how would I do that Flonne?" Laharl snapped.

"Well, his soul is in the painting, right? Maybe he might answer if you talk to him. Heh heh…"

Laharl rolled his eyes at Flonne's air headedness, but also appreciated the fact she was trying to help. "I would sure like to know more about Kairne. I mean how could a simple vassal be more powerful than Overlord Baal? And even if he was, why didn't my father tell anyone about him?"

"Maybe he was afraid somebody would try to set him free. He probably had a good reason for not telling anyone, after all he was the King." Etna replied.

"I guess your right Etna. We should try to forget about this new discovery. It is probably best we do." Laharl said a bit disappointed.

That night, in his coffin, Laharl could not sleep because Kairne was on his mind. It was him who cursed Laharl with an illness. If this had not happened his mother would still be alive. Not only that, but he betrayed his father and tried to steal both the netherworld and his life. Just thinking about it made Laharl furious. He hated this man that he never knew. He wanted revenge, but there was no way to do it without risking the safety of the Netherworld. Even though he just recently learned of Kairne's existence, Laharl wanted to eliminate all that was left of him.

"GAH! I can't sleep!" Laharl crawled out of his coffin. He decided to walk around the castle. Maybe it might calm him down. After a few minutes he ended up in the throne room looking at his father's portrait. He became even angrier thinking that Kairne has been living with him this whole time. Laharl burst out in rage, "Kairne, I swear I am going to kill you!" he started to walk away from the room, but I loud crashing noise made him freeze. He swiftly glanced back to see what it was and to his horror he saw the portrait of his father mangled on the floor. It fell off the wall, but how? The next thing Laharl knew, a small, glowing ball of light rose up out the broken picture. It hovered over the mess for a moment and then rushed out of the room through the ceiling. Though, the sight was unusual, Laharl knew exactly what had happened. Kairne's spirit had escaped from its prison!


	3. Midnight Discussions

Chapter 3: Midnight Discussions

Laharl stood in shock beside the remains of his father's portrait. Only seconds ago it served as a prison for the spirit of a dangerous being, now it is nothing more than a mangled mess on the ground. Laharl staggered over to his throne and collapsed into it. He needed a moment to grasp the situation. "Ok, Let's see." Laharl spoke to himself, "The portrait is broken. It is on the floor. That is bad. Even worse, I saw a glowing ball fly out of the portrait. According to my father's book, it is the spirit of Kairne." Laharl thought about it a bit more and then realized the true gravity of the situation. He decided it was best to keep calm about it so that he did not cause a panic. With this in mind he got up off the throne and headed towards Etna's room.

Laharl crept into Etna's room. He slowly approached the coffin that she slept in. As he neared the coffin he heard a strange noise. It grew louder with each step he took, it sounded like a muffled moan. The sound was coming from Etna's coffin. Laharl gently place his ear on the lid of the coffin, inside he could hear the sounds of Etna weeping. He was planning on opening the coffin to tell Etna what had happened, but now he was unsure of what to do. He debated with himself whether he should open the coffin or wait until morning. Laharl decided that he would tap on the lid. He balled is fist, lowered it to the coffin and softly knocked twice. The weeping sound stopped and there was an uneasy silence. Laharl became nervous; he feared that he might have gotten himself into an awkward situation. He started on his way out of the room so he could avoid any potential problems. Just as he was about to reach the door Etna's coffin blew open. Laharl halted and slowly turned to face Etna. "What are you doing in my room?" Etna questioned. Laharl looked up at her and saw that her eyes were swollen from crying. "I um… need to tell you something about Kairne." He replied.

"Huh, what is it?"

"Well, you know how the book said his spirit was in the Portrait?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Umm…well," Laharl didn't know exactly how to put it so he tried his best; "The spirit isn't in the Portrait anymore."

Etna looked confused for a moment and then spoke out, "Oh, Ha ha, Prince. Very funny, but joke seriously could have waited until morning. Now can you leave me alone?" Laharl walked back over to Etna's coffin and rephrased his words, "No, Etna. The portrait fell off the wall and is now broken. Kairne is free!"

Etna glared angrily at Laharl, "Ya know, Prince, this joke is in REALLY bad taste especially since I was just in my coffin thinking about how that bastard killed my pet!"

Laharl grew enraged at Etna's lack of understanding, he grabbed her arm pulled her out of her coffin and marched into the throne room. "Look Etna! What is that on the floor!" Laharl pointed to the broken portrait of his father. Etna broke free of Laharl's grip and went in for a closer inspection of the rubble. She crouched down and to her displeasure saw the picture of King Krichevskoy crumpled and torn. Just as Laharl claimed, the portrait was in ruins and that could only mean that Kairne was free. "H-how did this happen?" Etna nervously asked. Laharl stood silent for a bit and then answered the question, "I am not sure. I was in the throne room because I couldn't sleep and then on my way out it just fell."

"That's little hard to believe." Etna muttered.

"Etna! What is that supposed to mean!" Laharl snapped.

"I don't think it fell for no reason!"

"I sure didn't do it!"

Laharl and Etna argued, but stopped when they heard footsteps. Laharl peeked into the hall to see whose footsteps these were. Flonne was walking down the hall. "Etna, it's Flonne. She must have heard us." Laharl said to Etna.

"We should tell Flonne what happened." Etna suggested.

"Tell her? I don't think we can take that risk. She will tell everyone."

"She may be slow, but she is not a moron. Eventually she will figure out what happened. I think will should tell her now and get it over with."

Etna had a point. Laharl agreed to tell Flonne now. Etna went into the hall to fetch Flonne so that she could hear the news from Laharl. "Oh my, Laharl, Etna, what are you guys doing in here so late?" Flonne asked.

"Flonne, remember what I told you earlier about Kairne?" Laharl questioned.

"Sure I do Laharl. You told me only a few hours ago."

"Oh, anyway I have more to add on to it. Brace yourself Flonne."

Laharl told Flonne about the release of Kairne's spirit. Flonne seemed to understand everything, but she had an unusual reaction. "Laharl, what are you so worried about? It can't be that big of a deal." She said.

"Flonne, I don't think you understand." Laharl replied.

"No, Laharl, I understand just fine, but the book claims that this guy MAY be stronger than Baal. He MAY be. Besides you beat Baal. I think you can take this guy!" Flonne encouraged Laharl, but he still didn't feel comfortable.

Laharl admired Flonne's carefree attitude towards the situation. He remembered when he would react the same way when faced with a problem. Now he was Overlord and has since learned to act more responsibly. "Flonne, although I am more powerful than Baal, we still shouldn't take this event lightly. We don't know enough about his power to make assumptions like that." Laharl lectured with a snappy tone.

"I was just trying to help…" Flonne murmured.

Laharl sighed, "Flonne…why don't we continue this discussion tomorrow." Nobody protested his suggestion so they all went back to their rooms to rest. Elsewhere in the Netherworld, the spirit of Kairne is dashing across the night sky headed towards his carcass. King Krichevskoy supposedly hid it somewhere obscure in the Netherworld so that if Kairne ever escaped he would not find his body, but Krichevskoy was just taking a precaution. He never truly knew if that action would prevent Kairne from finding his body.


	4. Malevolent Eyes

Chapter 4: Malevolent Eyes

Kairne's spirit flew overhead illuminating the Netherworld's dark, star speckled sky. Despite King Krichevskoy's efforts, Kairne's spirit knew exactly wear to go to possess his body. It had a connection to it; the power that was held in his lifeless corpse drew his spirit closer. Kairne was soon to be living once again.

At the castle, Laharl lay in is coffin playing with the pendant around his neck. He recalled all the memories it carried with it. He much preferred to remember the time he dove into scolding lava to retrieve it for Flonne. She was so happy when he returned it to her. At the time he didn't want to admit it, but he too was filled with joy. The sight of her smile always made him happy. Another memory he looked back upon was when she gave it to him. She originally gave it to him so he could remember her after her punishment by the Seraph. She expected a death sentence for treason, but did not die as she expected. She, instead, was changed into a fallen angel and sent to live with Laharl. For Laharl, it was a depressing memory. He wished that the pendant would not remind him of the pain he felt when he thought he lost Flonne forever. It was a pain that hurt him so deeply that he shed his first tears.

After thinking back on those past memories, Laharl started to feel guilty about snapping at Flonne earlier. She was only being her usual upbeat self and trying to ease his mind. Laharl shoved the lid of his coffin aside and stepped out. He walked until he reached the throne room and then took silent steps to prevent awakening anyone.

Laharl successfully reached Flonne's room without waking anyone up. Her door was closed and a sign decorated with clouds and rays of sunshine hung from it. It read "Flonne's Little Piece of Heaven". Laharl smirked at the way Flonne decorated. Flonne's room was located next to Etna's room. Before she arrived it was vacant and occasionally used by prinnies for meetings and such. The prinnies gladly abandoned their use of the room so she could move in. Since then, she has made the room her own. It was not dark and threatening like the rest of the castle. It was very inviting and comfortable. Laharl did not love the atmosphere of the room, but he didn't hate it either.

Laharl gently knocked on the door. He heard Flonne's footsteps as she neared the door. She stopped and slowly opened the door. "Flonne" Laharl whispered, "I didn't wake you did I?"

Flonne softly replied, "No, I was just sitting on my bed. Come on in, Laharl."

Laharl walked into her room and sat on chair. He looked at her bed and wondered how she could stand sleeping on it. It was too open, no sides to it or a lid to cover it. It's in no way similar to a coffin. Flonne closed the door to her room and began to speak at normal tone, "Laharl, what are you doing up so late?"

Laharl looked at the ground and replied, "Well, I was thinking and I um…sorta felt bad about earlier."

Flonne looked confused, "Huh? You mean when you snapped at me? I don't mind that. I'm used to it."

Those words made Laharl want to punch him self. He realized then how often he did that to her. "You got used to it? That doesn't make me feel any better, Flonne."

"Oh, Sorry." Flonne squeaked.

"No, Flonne…I'm the one who screwed up." Laharl grabbed his left wrist and squeezed tight, "I'm…I'm sorry."

Flonne stood there for a moment staring at Laharl. Laharl wondered what was wrong with her. The next thing he new Flonne had embraced him and was telling him how nice he was. Laharl didn't know what to do; he just sat there with his arms limp. She eventually let go and sat down on her bed. She looked at him and began to speak, "Laharl, I'm really glad that you apologized to me, but I just want to know why you decided to do it now."

Laharl looked up at Flonne. "I was just thinking about things and I started feeling guilty I guess. I never realized that I bad mouthed you so much."

Flonne motioned for Laharl to sit next to her. Her accepted the invite and sat on her bed. Flonne turned to Laharl. "Laharl, You have matured so much since I met you. I remember when you would rather die than admit you were wrong. Now you are doing it on your own." Laharl was still looking at the ground. He didn't know how to act in this sort of situation. A pause occurred. It was broken when Flonne leaned over to give Laharl a kiss on the cheek. Just as she did it Laharl accidently turned into it and received a small kiss on the lips. Laharl jumped up off the bed and stood flushed. Flonne, too, was blushing tremendously. He tried to talk, but he stuttered and didn't know where to look as he spoke. "I-I should be getting to bed it is k-kind of late. Thanks for the kiss… I mean compliment. I meant compliment! G-good night Flonne."

Flonne was too embarrassed to look at Laharl, but nervously agreed with him, "Y-yup. I guess I should sleep." Laharl walked stiffly out of Flonne's room and silently shut the door. Flonne was alone now. She stopped blushing so much and thought about what just happened. She smiled.

Laharl crept back to his room and crawled into his coffin. He gently placed the lid upon it and curled up. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking of Flonne.

The next morning Laharl awakened to a violent banging on his coffin lid. He burst out angrily to see who woke him up. Surrounding his coffin were prinnies frantically jumping and yelling. All Laharl could hear were a bunch of "Doods" being shouted. Laharl screamed, "ONE AT A TIME!" All of the prinnies silenced. "What's wrong?" Laharl said annoyed.

One of the prinnies spoke up. "A disaster, dood! The Dark Assembly building has been demolished, dood!"

"The Dark Assembly!" Laharl dashed out of his room. In the throne room was a crowd of concerned vassals. Etna noticed Laharl in the room and rushed over to him. "Prince, you're awake."

"Etna, the Dark Assembly. Is it really gone?" Laharl asked.

"Yes, Prince, we just got news of it. The surviving senators are here now. You should meet with them, they are in the main meeting room." Etna responded.

Laharl dashed to the main meeting room to see the senators. He opened the large twin doors and was shocked to see so few senators. They were all sitting at one of the many round tables. The table seated at least twenty people or demons, but only fourteen seats were occupied. The senators were not in good shape either. They were badly beaten and some still bleeding. It seemed the only the toughest senators survived. Laharl took a seat and began questioning. "Senators, how did it happen?" Laharl spoke seriously.

A boar type demon rose up from his seat. His fur cape was stained with blood and he had many gashes and bruises. In a deep voice he explained, "Overlord Laharl, we were attacked just over two hours ago by a mysterious yet powerful demon. He attacked swiftly and left even quicker. We escaped just in time and made it here to inform you. We would have made it sooner, but our dimensional gate was destroyed along with the building. For now, that is all we know." The boar demon sat back down in his seat. Laharl addressed the senators, " If that is all you know, then I will go survey the damage. I will send in medical aid immediately." Laharl exited the room. He instructed Etna to send in aid and told her he was going to check out the damage.

On his way through the castle he noticed Flonne's door was still shut. That meant she was still asleep. He felt a bit relieved to know that Flonne would not have to face this situation until later. He continued on his way out of the castle, but was stopped by Etna's voice. "Wait Prince!"

"Etna what is it? Did you send in the aid?" Laharl nagged.

"Yes I did, but I need to ask you something." Etna responded.

"What?"

"Do you think this has something to do with…" Etna sighed, "with Kairne?"

A horrible feeling spread throughout Laharl's body, he completely forgot about Kairne. The situation with Flonne and the panic of today made it slip his mind. Laharl looked Etna in the eye and said, "He only escaped a few hours ago. There no chance that he is involved with this." Laharl turned away from Etna and continued to the Dark Assembly Building. Etna went back to dealing with the panicked demons; she strongly doubted Laharl's words. From the description that the Senator gave him he knew for a fact that Kairne was involved. He also knew that his false words did not help comfort Etna in any way.

Laharl walked for miles until he reached the ruined building. It was almost completely leveled. All that stood were a few pillars and some podiums. Laharl approached a large piece of ruble and lifted it. Underneath was a deceased senator, a fairy type demon. He wasn't strong enough. Laharl tossed the ruble aside. He walked around a bit more. Suddenly he heard a voice. It taunted him saying "Overlord." Laharl swung around to see what it was. Standing on a tall pillar was tall man with a long demon tail and mighty demon wings. He wore a dark slate gray dress shirt. His pants and dress shoes were pitch-black along with his long hair straight hair. He was grinning a toothy grin straight at Laharl. The most menacing feature about him was his red eyes. They cut through Laharl like a blade.


	5. An Ominous Threat

I can't believe it. I actually did chapter 5! Yah! I was more caught up with my other stories, but I decided to finish this one, finally. I will be updating this one a little more often now.

Chapter 5: An Ominous Threat

Laharl gazed speechless at the tall demon atop the pillar. He was grinning down at the Overlord with blood red eyes that stung like needles. Normally in such a situation Laharl would not permit another to show such a cocky behavior towards him, but this time was different. This demon had serious strength that he could feel all around him. It felt like he was being squeezed. His head, his arms, his legs, his stomach and his chest, all beings pushed inwards. Not ever has he felt anything so vile, not even Baal generated such an impure energy.

A chilled breeze rushed by and the demon's shoulder length hair sparkled as it was picked up. Then it fell gently back into place. He began to speak. "Laharl Krichevskoy, I don't think I need to introduce myself. You know exactly who I am."

"Kairne…" Laharl whispered to himself.

"What's that you say? I didn't quite catch that." Kairne teased. He hopped off the pillar and neatly landed in front of Laharl.

"Why are you here?" Laharl snarled.

"Why so harsh? I thought you would be glad to see me."

"Glad! Why the hell would I be glad!"

"Well, if I remember correctly you said you wanted to kill me. This is your chance to do so. You better take advantage of it."

Laharl remembered, only just hours ago he said it, right before the painting that encased Kairne shattered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Kairne smiled viciously. "It has everything to do with anything! Heh heh, I'm going to love telling you this! Well, when you shouted at my trapped spirit it sort of bounced. The hate and pain in those words made my spirit twitch just enough to knock the painting off the wall. After all, that is all an evil spirit like mine needs to cause a stir in it. So basically, you are to blame for my being here! Great isn't it?" He opened his eyes wide and leered Laharl.

Laharl clenched his teeth. He balled his fist. "Shut up!" He yelled as he sent it flying into Kairne's jaw. Kairne tumbled to the ground. Laharl was breathing heavily and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Heh, you're powerful for a little guy!" Kairne lifted himself up. He was undamaged. "I didn't expect you to be very strong. Not even your father could knock me to the ground."

"Thanks. I have no problem accepting compliments from my enemies." Laharl replied trying to keep a cool attitude. Behind his false confidence he feared what Kairne would do next.

"Laharl," Kairne began, "I bet you didn't know this, but I am a very compassionate demon. Normally, I would mindlessly slaughter anyone who attempted to harm me, but I want you alive. I want you to be alive so that you can witness my rise to the throne. I want you to see how much I will change the netherworld."

As Laharl listened to the words Kairne spoke a rage began to swell inside his body. Laharl wanted so much to let his demonic rage loose on Kairne. He wanted to avenge his mother's death. He tried to repress it, if he let his raw wrath go and there was no telling what the powerful demon could do to him. For all he knew, Kairne could beat him to death. Then he would be powerless to intervene in his wicked plans. Though, it did not appear as if Laharl was suppressing any negative feelings, on the outside he looked confident and calm. Since he became Overlord he has learned to control his emotions much better especially with all the incompetent vassals he had working around him.

"Laharl, you must be bored to death listening to the pointless drabble spewing from my mouth, right?"

"I think can agree on that, Kairne."

Kairne began to float a little above the ground and looked as if he was sitting in a chair. Then he placed one leg over the other and crossed his arms. "I know what you're thinking Laharl. 'Why does he have huge gorgeous wings if he can fly without them?' Right? Well, the fact of the matter is that they actually make me fly faster. You wish you had them don't you, you little half-demon."

"No, Actually I'm wondering what you going to do next. You're just floating here and talking."

Kairne was silent for a moment. Laharl was, also, waiting for a response, and then he perked up as Kairne looked as if he was going to answer, but he quickly shut his mouth. A few seconds later Kairne decided to answer.

"Ok, I'll admit. I don't know where to begin. I got my plan and everything, but I don't know where to start. I destroyed the dark assembly, but that doesn't do anything at all. I mean what power did they have in the first place, the power to cower in fear of there Overlord?"

Laharl was surprised by the sudden change in attitude that Kairne had. He was starting to feel a bit safer around him because of his lack of plans. "What kind of enemy are you!"

Kairne sighed. "I'm sorry, Laharl, what do you want me to do, destroy the Netherworld? I'm not gonna cause that's what I want to rule. I can't kill you because I want to see you're face when I overthrow you. Hmm, perhaps I should have you as a lowly vassal, too. Oh, want that be the icing on the cake. I think…" Kairne drifted off into his fantasies right in front of Laharl who was staring at him in awe.

"Who the hell is this freak!" Laharl thought, "He has a tremendous power with an evil goal to match, but yet he drifts off into his own mind thinking of how to reach that goal. Is he taunting me?"

"Laharl!" Kairne scolded, "It's rude to daydream in front of people!"

"You're one to talk."

"Hey, shut up. I was trying to tell that I'm gonna leave, but you where off in your own dream world, stupid kid. I will be back, though, and when I'm back you'll know that I'm back!"

Instantly after finishing his sentence he took flight form his current position. A huge gust rose from the force of his mighty flapping wings and Laharl was temporarily blinded by the dust it stirred up. When Laharl's vision returned he was gone, not even a black speck in the sky could be seen.

"What's up with this guy," Laharl said aloud to himself, "He leaves so soon to go plan! Hm, even though he's a weird one I still should be careful, for all I know it was a trick of some sort. Oh, Crap! It must have been a trick he's probably trying to confuse so he can raid the castle or something!"

With this new idea in mind, Laharl ran as fast as he could to his castle. He feared that Kairne might have already arrived there especially with that speed of his. He was suddenly reminded of what Kairne said about his wings and how fast they made him. Laharl knew that he could be just a skillful if he had wings, but he didn't for it was true that he was only half-demon and limited to only having demon fangs and ears.

Not much later he arrived at the hill in front of his castle. If he walked to the top of it he could see his castle in clear view. Laharl crossed his fingers and took a deep breath as he approached the top of the hill, hoping to find everything as he left it, but he wasn't so lucky. His eyes widened in horror as he saw fleeing vassals and an explosion burst from the huge entrance of his home. An instant impulse told him to charge in to the castle and he followed.

As he ran he thought of how he was so easily deceived by the new enemy, Kairne. He wanted to punch out his teeth or at least kick himself. He pushed past the crowd of that exited the castle ignoring all the screams and cries that he heard. As soon as he entered a huge roaring fireball was smoldering in the mid air. It was like having the sun inside the castle. It flung of random and dangerous arcs of fire in all directions and made a horrible roaring sound hovered floated there. Surely, Kairne had beaten him.

"Where is he!" Laharl shouted.

Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his legs. He tripped and fell on his back. When he lifted his head up he saw the little fallen angle hugging his legs with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do it! It was an accident! I mean it!" Flonne whaled.

"What's going on here!" Laharl shouted as his accusations to Kairne faded due to what Flonne had just cried out.

"Laharl, please don't be mad! I didn't want to do it, but Etna made me!"

"What you're blaming me for this!" Etna shouted as she pointed at the violent fury of fire.

"Somebody, tell me what's going on here?" Laharl shouted in rage.

Flonne wouldn't stop crying he head off so Etna tried to explain the best she could over the sounds of the roaring fire. Embers were flying off it and landing dangerously close to the three.

"Flonne tried to use a Giga fire spell, but it went a little wrong! We can't get it to stop!" Etna explained.

"Let me handle this." Laharl tried to get up, but Flonne was still clinging to his legs, so he fell again.

Etna pulled the shaken demon girl off of him and he got up again this time with no problem. Laharl strolled to the center of the large entrance room. He stood underneath the enormous fir ball and he put out one hand with his palm facing the ground. An orb about the size of his head floated out of the ground and gently stopped in his hand. He then swung his arm around releasing the orb into the core of the Giga Fire ball. The fire began to swell larger and dim out. Then it shrunk into itself and collapsed.

"Wow, Prince, way to go! How did you know that it wouldn't explode?"

A cocky smile grew on his face. "The Giga Fire spell creates a tiny sun. All I did was use one orb from my Overlord's wrath technique and shot it in the center causing it to burn out and collapse upon itself."

"Very good, except shouldn't it go super nova any minute?

"Uh…"

A violent burst of energy suddenly expelled from the location of the former Giga Fire shooting the three young demons out the entry way into the large mass of demons and vassal that earlier fled from the disaster. The walls of the castle shook form the force but, fortunately, did not crumble. Silence followed the emissive explosion and everyone felt relieved to hear the sound of nothing threatening the magnificent stronghold. After a moment to let what had just happened settle in heir mind everyone entered the castle and continued what they were doing. Laharl, Etna and Flonne, stayed outside with Laharl.

"Well, I'm glad that's over. Oh, yeah that reminds me! How was the situation with the Dark Assembly? Is it safe to assume things will be ok? I mean you seemed to handle it really fast!" Etna chuckled.

Flonne still had some tears in her eyes, but smiled as she spoke. "Yeah, you look fine to me, Laharl. Did you show him who's boss."

Laharl had for moment forgot about Kairne as he dealt with the problem, but now he sighed and made a look of doubt as he was reminded. Both Etna and Flonne's hopefulness was turned in to doubt, also, by his look. Silently, he walked past the two girls and motioned for them to follow. They followed Laharl into the castle. He walked past the entrance, into the throne room where they expected to stop, but Laharl kept walking. They followed with a little confusion and even more anxiety, wondering why he kept walking. They obediently followed the young demon until he made a sudden stop and turned around. They ended up in Laharl's room, a place more private to talk. Etna and Flonne feared the words Laharl would utter. He had never had them meet in his room before. He must have been a serious problem.

Laharl was pacing around nervously. Trying to think of how he would tell them what Kairne had done. He didn't want to worry them. He didn't want them to think that Kairne would attack he kingdom at anytime without warning. Most of all he didn't want them to get hurt. So in final split second decision he made up his mind. Something that would make them feel safe and be safe.

"Etna, Flonne," Laharl began in a serious tone; he placed his hand on the edge of his coffin. "I want you two to leave."


End file.
